I'm crabby about cancer! My blog is the story of my participation in events for Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
As a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor from 2002, I want to give something back to show the gratitude that I have for surviving this disease. I completed my sixth Team in Training event in October 2013, and in September 2011, I walked 60 miles to raise money for breast cancer research! I'm living strong!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Message From the Captain #17

How about those Shamrockers, eh? The smiles I saw on the race course were so bright that they would have powered a city. A great time was had by a great team.

I think we are at the stage where most participants who recommitted seem to be near or have already hit their fundraising goals. I’ve gotten emails from several you to that effect, although there are at least a few still trying to get there. I think the best case for anyone who completed their race is to continue to ask, and to have a victory party. Keep them cognizant of the reimbursement date, because LLS will not reimburse them after that date even if money comes in. The date varies with each event.

Going forward, because so many mentees are either done or doing well, I am going to work with you one on one instead of sending mass emails. At this point, we have a few Nashville participants, and then those for Tahoe and St. Anthonys. So I am going to depend on you to reach out and contact me about who you are still working with and have concerns about. I am mentoring with the summer team and going through the same issues you all have faced. There always seems to be two kinds of participants: those that hit their fundraising goals and higher with very little help, and those that struggle – often in silence. For the former group, encourage them to become rock stars. For the latter, continue to work with them if they respond to you. I know that is not always the case.

Let me know how I can help. I am glad to meet with you and your mentees and work one on one with you and them. I am doing fundraising right now as well and know it is still a bit tough out there, so we need to leave no stone unturned. But I am also finding that many people will respond if we ask them. Even with unemployment so high, 90% of people still have jobs.

And it is important to remember this one important fact: cancer is not, and has not been, in recession.

No comments:

Racing for a Cure and Living Strong!

About this blog

Every post prior to July 24, 2008 was written previously and posted in this blog as time allowed, starting in June. These posts describe my preparation for and participation in Team in Training for the 2008 Arizona Marathon. In addition, I've written about the May 2008 Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Richmond, Virginia. Posts from July 24 forward were written in the present, as I race to be a small part of finding a cure for the evil beast known as cancer!

Who Should our Role Models Be?

I believe that every day people doing every day things who are trying to do good in the world should be our true role models, not "sports heroes", actors and actresses, pop stars, politicians, super models, and other celebrities. Let them all do what they do best - which is athletics, acting, music, getting elected, modeling, and acting like celebrities. But unless they are a true role model, let's not pretend that they are simply because they can dunk a basketball or look great in a swim suit or win an Oscar. You and I are role models when we do something good in the world.